People in some of Syracuse's poorest neighborhoods give more to charities than those in wealthy areas

Stephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-Standard Members of Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church on West Castle Street bring up the collection baskets on a recent Sunday.

Residents of Syracuse’s South Side, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, give more of their money to charity than people who live in richer areas like Manlius, Fayetteville and Skaneateles, according to a study.

The recent study analyzing charitable giving by ZIP codes shows the typical household in 13205 — Syracuse’s South Side — gives 6.7 percent of its discretionary income to charity. That’s nearly double the 3.6 percent donated by the average household in the three-county Syracuse metropolitan area.

The typical household in Manlius, the region’s highest-income area, gives 3.7 percent, the study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy shows.

Giving patterns in the Syracuse region mirror national trends identified by the Chronicle study:

Middle-class Americans give a far bigger slice of their discretionary income to charities than the rich;

Rich people who live in neighborhoods with many other wealthy people give less to charity than rich people who live in more economically diverse communities;

And regions and neighborhoods where people are more deeply religious are more generous than those that are not.

Zip code 13205 is a 3.5 square mile tract stretching from West Castle Street just south of downtown to Nedrow. U.S. Census data shows nearly 35 percent of the residents are below the poverty level, nearly 59 percent are black and about 27 percent never graduated from high school.

It comes as no surprise to the Rev. David Tanyhill, pastor of Bell Grove Missionary Baptist at 219 W. Castle St., that the neighborhood surrounding his church is the epicenter of generosity in the Syracuse region.

“People who are in more affluent neighborhoods, many times their money is their God,” Tanyhill said. “We are people who understand mercy because of the fact we have needed so much of it in our lives. It’s because of our giving that we are able to receive.”

Jennifer Owens, vice president of the Community Foundation of Central New York, said the above-average level of generosity on the South Side shows the good feeling that comes from giving is not a pleasure exclusively reserved for the rich.

“It’s something everyone can do,” Owen said. “The closer you live to the need, the more likely you are to feel compelled to do your part.”

The study was based on the most recently available Internal Revenue Services records of Americans who itemized their deductions. It looked at taxpayers who earned more than $50,000 in 2008 and the charitable deductions they claimed on tax forms. The study only analyzed data for people who reported incomes of $50,000 or more because of discrepancies in the data for people with income below $50,000. The study shows the percentage of income households donated from the money they had left after paying their taxes and covering housing, food and other essential expenses.

The online edition of the report gives detailed breakdowns, by income level, showing the percentage of income donated by people in various income brackets for every ZIP code in the nation.

The study includes donations to all types of charities, including churches and other religious organizations.

Carol Dwyer, who teaches a class on philanthropy in Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, said the highest percentage of charitable contributions — whether people are rich or poor — have always gone to religious institutions.

“That surprises some people because there’s a lack of understanding of the power of religion in some people’s lives,” Dwyer said.

The top state for giving is Utah, which has high numbers of Mormons known for generously supporting their churches. The typical household there gives 10.6 percent to charity. The other top states are Bible-belt states: Mississippi (7.2 percent), Alabama (7.1 percent), Tennessee (6.6 percent) and South Carolina (6.4 percent).

These New England states gave the least: Rhode Island (3.1 percent), Massachusetts (3.1), Vermont (2.8 percent), Maine (3.3) and New Hampshire (2.5 percent).

The typical household in New York state gives 4.7 percent to charity.

The study found when religious giving is excluded, the geography of giving is much different. New York would jump from No. 18 to No. 2 and Pennsylvania would climb from No. 40 to No. 4.

Religion plays a big role in the South Side’s generosity, said Bob Herz, director of the South Side Innovation Center, a business incubator at 2610 S. Salina St. created by Syracuse University.

“The ZIP code probably has more churches per square inch than any place in the county,” Herz said. “It is the churches that form the backbone of the area down here.”

The innovation center has a “Women of Faith in Business” group that focuses on women entrepreneurs who operate their own businesses so they can give some money back to the community and to their churches, he said.

“The enthusiastic response we get suggests to me there is a real spirit here of giving money, time, treasure and talent back into the community,” Herz said.

Rev. Daren C. Jaime, pastor of People’s AME Zion Church at 2610 S. Salina St., said he was “shocked” to learn the level of giving on the South Side was nearly twice the average for the three-county area.

He said many people in his church and other congregations give 10 percent of their income to their churches, a practice known as tithing followed by many religious groups.

“We have learned how to give much, even when we have little,” Jaime said. “People in faith communities who really believe in tithing will give 10 percent of their income no matter what.”

Tanyhill, of Bell Grove Missionary Baptist, said most people who tithe don’t consider it a financial sacrifice because it is money they never see.

“It’s sort of what other people do when 10 percent of their money goes toward their 401K retirement plan,” Tanyhill said. “God is our 401k.”
Contact James T. Mulder at 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com.